Lucas Willard

Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief/Weekend Host

Lucas Willard graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications. He also attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2010, where he studied audio and multimedia storytelling. Prior to joining WAMC in 2011, Lucas worked with the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley, the Big Shed Audio Documentary Podcast, the Albany Broadcasting Company, WDVL & WCVF-FM Fredonia, and WSUC-FM Cortland.

Ways to Connect

A combination of state, federal, and local funding has been collected to continue expanding biking trails in Berkshire County. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail – a former railroad corridor that runs North to South from the Berkshire town of Adams through Cheshire to Lanesborough – will we be given a paved expansion to North Adams.

Two Berkshire communities are participating in a statewide effort to expand the use of solar energy in private homes and small businesses. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to expand small-scale solar projects throughout the state with in its Solarize Massachusetts program.

Pittsfield and Lenox, two designated Green Communities, will be holding community forums to educate the public about solar energy and the Solarize Mass program.

Numbers released by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles show that almost 1,000 drivers with five or more drunk driving convictions are still legally driving in the State. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

The numbers initially obtained from the Registry of Motor Vehicles by the Boston Herald indicate that 947 chronic drunk-drivers with five or more offenses in the Commonwealth are still on the road.

The three Democratic candidates in the race for a seat in Congress representing Massachusetts’ 1st District have agreed to a series of debates. WAMC’s Lucas Willard has more…

Congressional candidate and former state senator Andrea Nuciforo recently issued a challenge to his rivals to four regional debates across the new Western Massachusetts district. Mr. Nuciforo mentioned the need for the debates as essential for voters to learn the distinctions between himself and fellow candidate current 2nd District Congressman Richard Neal.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed the state’s FY 2013 budget on Sunday, but some proposals didn’t make the cut. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard took a look at what items the governor vetoed and filed a report…

Governor Patrick vetoed 32.1 million in line items from the 32.5 billion dollar budget signed earlier this week. Among the items cut were reforms to immigration policy, health and social services.

Six cultural non-profits in Berkshire County are receiving awards as part of the the latest round of cultural funding grants from the state of Massachusetts. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Earlier this week Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced 5 million dollars in matching grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund have been distribuited to 57 cultural non-profits across the Commonwealth. The program is designed to support non-profits by providing money for improvement, upkeep, and expansion efforts.

Authorities say a Sudbury, Massachusetts man has died after being struck by a tree while walking back to his car following a James Taylor concert at Tanglewood. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The Berkshire district attorney's office announced Thursday that 61-year-old Lester Holtzblatt was struck by a 20-feet section of a dead tree while walking with his wife along a Lenox road at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

He was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A mosquito infected with West Nile Virus was recently found in Pittsfield. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau chief Lucas Willard spoke with regional health officials to get more information on the disease in the region.

The mosquito carrying West Nile virus was obtained in Pittsfield by the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project and was confirmed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

BOSTON (AP) -- Electric and natural gas utility National Grid is warning its customers not to fall for a bill-paying scam that asks them to disclose Social Security and bank routing numbers.

The utility says scammers claim customers can have their utility bills paid under a federal government program.

No such program exists.

The solicitations have been made door-to-door, online and in through phone calls. The company says customers are asked for Social Security and bank routing numbers, then given fake account numbers said to be for payment on their behalf.

Several groups in Massachusetts are advocating for a bill that would provide funds to repair or replace dams in the state. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Senate Bill 1985 – legislation that would provide funds to repair dams across the states – passed the Senate last year. Now, several groups are advocating for its passage in the House before the end of the session.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association is one of them. Executive Director Geoff Beckwith…

The Federal Health Care Law has people divided across the country, but how will it affect access to care in Massachusetts -a state with its own insurance mandate in place since 2006? WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

Chip Joffee-Halpern, executive director of Ecu Healthcare – a private organization in North Adams that connects citizens with health care options – says that the Affordable Care Act will help fill in some of the gaps in coverage for those who may be ineligible for Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Care – but can’t afford their own coverage.

Environmentalists in Massachusetts are concerned over a controversial bill they say could effectively eliminate endangered species protections in the State. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard Reports…

Sponsor of Senate Bill 1854, Gale Candaras says that the rumors and ideas circulating about her proposal to enforce landowner protections by amending the state’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species laws are misleading.

The Massachusetts House has approved a measure calling on school districts to implement a new teacher evaluation system and place performance ahead of seniority in deciding future layoffs. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The legislation, which has already been approved by the Senate, resulted from a compromise struck between the Massachusetts Teachers Association and an advocacy group called Stand for Children that had proposed a statewide ballot question.

The organization has said it would be willing to drop the ballot initiative if the bill becomes law.

Over the past 5 years, Pittsfield has had several economic investments in the arts. As WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports, a new study details the financial impact on the city…

The study was conducted by American’s for the Arts – a national non-profit that advocates for advancing arts and cultural programs. The Arts & Economic Prosperity IV economic study looked at 182 different communities across the country over a five-year period, Pittsfield was the only in Massachusetts to participate.

A company seeking to open a heroin addiction treatment clinic in downtown Pittsfield has been halted once again. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard has the story…

The proposed methadone clinic owned by Worcester-based Spectrum Health Services Inc. will need to find a new location in Pittsfield after the owners of the property under consideration declined to rent use of the facility located in a residential neighborhood in downtown Pittsfield.

Pittsfield Mayor Dan Bianchi spoke Tuesday night at a City Council meeting about the new development.

New England's unemployment rate ticked down one-tenth of a percentage point in May and is near its lowest level since January 2009. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday the jobless rate in the region was 6.8 percent last month, down from 6.9 percent in April. Officials say it has fallen 1.1 by percent in the last year.

The national rate is 8.2 percent.

Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the region, at 11 percent, and the second highest in the United States. Nevada's is 11.6 percent.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is funding a series of initiatives aimed at making public recreation improvements in areas across the state. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

The Masschusetts DCR recently announced two programs to help upgrade outdoor attractions and state parks. The 2012 Partnerships Matching Funds Program last week awarded $1 million in matching grants to community organizations, private businesses, non-profits, and parks advocacy groups to help fund select improvements. DCR’s Conrad Crawford explains…

Beekeeping has become a surprisingly fast growing hobby in Massachusetts, despite a time of overall lower honey production caused by new diseases affecting hive populations, and uncooperative weather. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard took a look and filed this report…

President of the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association Dan Conlon has seen some funny business in the honey business this year.

For students, now is the time of year when school ends and summer vacation begins – and for many that means trying to find a summer job. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard took a look at the market for part-time work for young people.

The Berkshire County economy is picking up speed, with the area’s employment numbers matching the state average for the first time in months, and the real estate market improving. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

With President Obama’s recent announcement to halt the deportation of undocumented students, advocates for immigrants in Massachusetts are speaking up about their support for the plan. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…